no hair cutting days?

[meepmeep]

I'm sorry if this seems silly, or is in the wrong section...

I noticed that I have made an appointment for a haircut on a no hair cutting day according to the fpmt calendar. It would be difficult for me to reschedule, as well as inconvenient for the stylist. So my question is... how seriously does one take these days.
Is there some way to mitigate any bad luck associated with this? I thought maybe some extra Vajrasattva mantras...?

I know this seems trivial, but I'd love some help on the matter.


Thanks

[Nilasarasvati]

Dear Meepmeep...
I face the same problems all the time.
Here's a far more interesting take on tibetan astrology, for one:
http://www.magastral.com/astrotibet/cal ... ctuel.html it's in french and english in pieces so you may need to look a couple things up. But it gives you a lot of really cool info like the animal du jour (today is an iron Dragon day! How cool!)

Anyway, I think on the one hand, it's all made up right? It's all mind.

On the other hand, this is magic with some serious tradition behind it. I like to do it just as an act of mindfulness and an aspiration practice. Get your hair cut on the 10th day of the lunar month for great power to help beings. Get it cut on the 8th and you will meet lovely young companions wink wink.

However, if it's a bad haircutting day, I just say vajrasattva as much as usual and then include the aspiration: if any negative forces result from this, may it be Tonglen that takes away the negativity of other beings getting their hair cut on this day. Or even just all beings in general. That way, it is a source of merit and the more negativity that results from it, the more you profit, right?? Basically Bodhicitta makes every situation win/win.

[Grigoris]

It's quite simple really: just don't cut your hair, then you don't have to worry about bad hair (cut) days!

Though I might have to reassess this attitude in the light of this statement:

Get it cut on the 8th and you will meet lovely young companions wink wink.

Does getting split ends trimmed count as "cutting"?

[SunRay]

I'm sorry if this seems silly, or is in the wrong section...

I noticed that I have made an appointment for a haircut on a no hair cutting day according to the fpmt calendar. It would be difficult for me to reschedule, as well as inconvenient for the stylist. So my question is... how seriously does one take these days.
Is there some way to mitigate any bad luck associated with this? I thought maybe some extra Vajrasattva mantras...?

I know this seems trivial, but I'd love some help on the matter.


Thanks

...Next time consult the Tibetan calendar before making the appointment to the hairdresser's. Maybe?

[mandala]

hmmm, maybe this explains my bad hair days...

[meepmeep]

Thanks Nilasarvati
Funny thing is, if it said I would meet a lovely companion I wouldn't take it seriously at all.

I know a good bit about western astrology, and to me it really seems way to general until you really get into the intricacies of it, then it starts to make sense.

I can't help but feel Tibetan astrology must be the same way, but it is kind of difficult to find information on.


Greg- if I didn't cut my hair I would be walking around all summer with the equivalent of a hot thick wool blanket on my neck

[KathyLauren]

There are no-hair-cutting days?? Who knew? Lucky thing for me that I haven't cut my hair for at least 15 years.

Om mani padme hum
Keith

[plwk]

I had to ask... does this apply to nose hair trimming, leg and armpit shaving?

[meepmeep]

I had to ask... does this apply to nose hair trimming, leg and armpit shaving?

oh god, didn't even think of that... if so, then I'm not even going to worry about it, as I would have surely met my end by now if that was the case.

[Grigoris]

Greg- if I didn't cut my hair I would be walking around all summer with the equivalent of a hot thick wool blanket on my neck

I do anyway (you can't tell from my photo). But hey, that's what top knots are for!

[Nilasarasvati]

I think the whole obsession in Tibetan astrology with haircutting days is particularly for monastics who had to keep a shaven head...otherwise cutting the hair is, in many yogic traditions, viewed as a interruption of the prana and thus it is important to synchronize the date with the "movements above."

What's really interesting is, in Western European folk religions, you'd always burn your hair or any child's hair because if they were scattered outside they could be used by witches or fairies to curse or harm you. It's that classic object psychology phenomenon of "It used to be part of me, now it's not; but it's still kind of me! What do I do with it??"

So now, anytime I cut my nails, hair, etc. I scatter them outside and I hope that any little critters or evil spirits that touch or eat or grow out of them will be benefited somehow. Like baby chod.